Lazy Day, Lazy Whales

Today I got a call that J-Pod was heading south towards Lime Kiln Lighthouse. I rushed out there, because sometimes they zoom down from the north end of San Juan Island in 20 minutes. Other times though, like today, they move very slowly against a strong flood tide and it takes them more like two hours. When the whales finally came into sight, they were very far offshore, and I spent another two hours watching them slowly make progress southward. While it wasn't an action-filled day whale-wise, it was nice to just relax on the rocks in the sunshine, and sit there with my camera and binoculars enjoying both the whales in the distance and the other wildlife that was around.

Several small flocks of harlequin ducks flew by, there were lots of little harbor seal weaner pups (born in July of this year, but now off on their own) chasing each other around, and one orca even came in for a "close" pass - although close today meant within half a mile!

Overall, I certainly can't complain - it was another beautiful day in the San Juan Islands!